Malouda blames system failure

Florent Malouda believes France's World Cup fiasco was the fault of the entire system.

By Patrick Haond

Last Updated: 03/07/10 12:29pm

Florent Malouda has refused to take full responsibility for France's World Cup fiasco, believing the entire system was to blame.

The winger was part of the squad which refused to train after Chelsea team-mate Nicolas Anelka was sent home for insulting coach Raymond Domenech.

While the squad's actions have been condemned by many as France crashed out of the tournament bottom of Group A, Malouda believes other factors were at work.

He insists the fiasco was the fault of the system, a poor environment and the coach's refusal to listen to his players.

Malouda told L'Equipe Magazine: "With France I came to play where I was asked to and that was it.

Didn't try

"We didn't even try to see the coach to talk about the tactical system, 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1.

"It was just 'put yourself there and no arguments'. We did not look for explanations. Never in the last few years did my words have any influence on the coach."

The 30-year-old, who has played 57 times for his country, added: "It's the failure of a system that led to the debacle.

"The players who play for Chelsea, Barcelona, (Bayern) Munich or (Olympique) Lyon need a high-level environment to blossom.

"It was difficult for me to accept the way the national team functioned compared to a great club like Chelsea. Every time I was called up to the national team, it was back to negative stories and bad vibes."

Constant criticism

Constant criticism from fans and media also did not help, with Malouda adding: "We heard we were paid too much and now we're being called gang leaders. We came to the France team to face stick. There was no protection.

"We talked about everything but football. At club level, it is not like that. All the conditions are met for the player to be in a healthy environment to compete."

Malouda continued: "There are (Federation) officials and a coach who must offer their analyses.